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Jó 32

ARC · Chapter 32/42

1Então aquelles tres homens cessaram de responder a Job; porque era justo aos seus proprios olhos.

2E accendeu-se a ira d'Elihu, filho de Baracheel o buzita, da familia de Ram: contra Job se accendeu a sua ira, porque se justificava a si mesmo, mais do que a Deus.

3Tambem a sua ira se accendeu contra os seus tres amigos: porque, não achando que responder, todavia condemnavam a Job.

4Elihu porém esperou que Job fallasse; porquanto tinham mais edade do que elle.

5Vendo pois Elihu que já não havia resposta na bocca d'aquelles tres homens, a sua ira se accendeu.

6E respondeu Elihu, filho de Baracheel o buzita, e disse: Eu sou de menos edade, e vós sois edosos; receei-me e temi de vos declarar a minha opinião.

7Dizia eu: Fallem os dias, e a multidão doa annos ensine a sabedoria.

8Na verdade, ha um espirito no homem, e a inspiração do Todo-poderoso os faz entendidos.

9Os grandes não são os sabios, nem os velhos entendem juizo.

10Pelo que digo: Dae-me ouvidos, e tambem eu declararei a minha opinião.

11Eis que aguardei as vossas palavras, e dei ouvidos ás vossas considerações, até que buscasseis razões.

12Attentando pois para vós, eis que nenhum de vós ha que possa convencer a Job, nem que responda ás suas razões:

13Para que não digaes: Achamos a sabedoria; Deus o derribou, e não homem algum.

14Ora elle não dirigiu contra mim palavra alguma, nem lhe responderei com as vossas palavras.

15Estão pasmados, não respondem mais, faltam-lhes as palavras.

16Esperei pois, porém não fallam: porque já pararam, e não respondem mais.

17Tambem eu responderei pela minha parte: tambem eu declararei a minha opinião.

18Porque estou cheio de palavras, e aperta-me o espirito do meu ventre.

19Eis que o meu ventre é como o mosto, sem respiradouro, e virá a arrebentar, como odres novos.

20Fallarei, e respirarei: abrirei os meus labios, e responderei.

21Oxalá eu não faça accepção de pessoas, nem use de sobrenomes com o homem!

22Porque não sei usar de sobrenomes: em breve me levaria o meu Creador.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A new character, the young Elihu, is introduced as someone who listened to the whole debate in silence but now grows angry both at Job, for justifying himself rather than God, and at the three friends, for failing to refute him properly. He announces that he will finally speak his own opinion.

Explanation

Elihu is introduced differently from the other characters, with a detailed genealogy (son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram) and an explanation for his previous silence: the respect due to the older age of the other participants in the debate. His twofold irritation — at Job for excessively justifying himself, and at the friends for lacking convincing arguments — sets the stage for a new angle in the debate, although his subsequent speeches still repeat several elements of the earlier positions. Application for today: sometimes it is wise to wait patiently before sharing an opinion in a debate, but that does not mean the new perspective offered will necessarily be more correct than those that came before.

Fun facts

  • Elihu is the only character in the book identified as a descendant of Buz, a region associated with a brother of Uz in the genealogy of Nahor, Abraham's uncle (Genesis 22:20-21), suggesting a distant family connection to the biblical patriarchs.
  • Interestingly, Elihu is mentioned neither in the book's prologue (chapters 1-2) nor in the final conclusion (chapter 42), when God specifically rebukes the three friends for their errors — an omission noted and debated by commentators throughout the history of the book's interpretation.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jó 32:1The three friends stop answering because Job considered himself righteous in his own eyes — the narrator closes their cycle of speeches and prepares the entrance of a fourth character.
  2. Jó 32:2Elihu appears out of nowhere, a new and younger character, angry at Job for justifying himself rather than God, and also angry at the three friends for having failed to truly refute Job.
  3. Jó 32:3Elihu also grows irritated with the three friends: they could not refute Job, yet they kept condemning him anyway — Elihu notices the inconsistency in all three of them.
  4. Jó 32:4Elihu had waited to speak out of respect for the others’ age — the culture of the time gave priority to the elders when it came to giving an opinion.
  5. Jó 32:5Seeing that the three had no answer left at all, Elihu’s anger finally kindles and he decides to break the silence.
  6. Jó 32:6Elihu apologizes for speaking as the youngest of them all — in the ancient world, age was synonymous with authority, so he needs to justify why he thinks he has something to add.
  7. Jó 32:7Elihu explains the logic he used to follow: he thought that age and years of experience should teach wisdom — this is the very idea he is about to challenge.
  8. Jó 32:8Elihu presents his central argument: it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives understanding — not simply the accumulation of years lived.
  9. Jó 32:9He directly challenges the assumption that only the old understand what is right — thereby justifying his own right to speak despite his young age.
  10. Jó 32:10So Elihu asks to be heard too, with the same right to state his opinion that the elders had.
  11. Jó 32:11He recounts that he waited patiently, paying close attention to the three friends’ arguments while they searched for what to say.
  12. Jó 32:12Elihu judges that none of the three actually managed to refute Job or answer his arguments — a harsh verdict on the trio’s failure.
  13. Jó 32:13He warns them not to fall back on the easy excuse, “We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man” — Elihu believes he has something new and better to offer.
  14. Jó 32:14Elihu says he will answer in a different way from the three, since Job never directed any words specifically against him.
  15. Jó 32:15He describes the three friends as dismayed and speechless — confirming that their silence is not a strategy, but a genuine exhaustion of arguments.
  16. Jó 32:16Elihu explains why he will wait no longer: since they have stopped speaking and have nothing more to add.
  17. Jó 32:17Elihu announces that he too will make his contribution, stating his own opinion in the debate.
  18. Jó 32:18Elihu compares himself to fermenting new wine, full of words, about to burst its container if it is not released soon.
  19. Jó 32:19Continuing the previous verse’s image of being “full of matter”: Elihu compares himself to new wine with no vent, about to burst like new bottles — the physical urgency to speak.
  20. Jó 32:20He says he must speak to find relief, as if staying silent were physically unbearable.
  21. Jó 32:21Elihu promises not to show favoritism or use flattery toward anyone — he sets out to be more honest and direct than the three friends.
  22. Jó 32:22He states that he does not even know how to flatter, because that would quickly bring his own Maker’s judgment down on him — sincerity as a matter of personal piety.

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